Prior to 1988, chlordane was used for termite protection. Using chlordane, a single treatment of a building site prior to construction provided long-term protection against termites. The practice at that time entailed a single application to the soil prior to the pouring of foundations and cement slabs. Tests conducted as long as 52 years after such treatment indicated no signs of breakdown.
Unfortunately, because of environmental problems associated with chlordane, other chemicals have had to be substituted. The chemicals in use today for termite control are considerably more expensive. Furthermore, their effective life has not been reliably tested. Typically, the industry guarantees the life of such products applied as a pre-treat for only five years.
At the end of the five years, the homeowner must decide whether to gamble and risk a termite invasion or to apply a re-treatment. When possible, the re-treatment consists of drilling holes no more than every two feet around the perimeter of the home. The chemical is then injected, typically at the rate of four gallons per ten lineal feet. Frequently, the process becomes even more difficult and expensive. If the homeowner has planted trees of shurbs or has installed sidewalks of pools that interfer, ot becomes necessary to apply treatment from inside the structure, This intails, in many cases, pulling up carpets, drilling holes through ceramic tiles and cement slabs and the applying the chemicals through the holes. After all this, and at a cost more than twice that of the original pre-treat, the re-treatment is only guaranteed for one more year.
The present invention offers an effective alternative to the dilemma in the form of a termite control system that provides access to appropriate areas under the home for periodic or "as needed" chemical applications before and after construction.